News & Publications

ALBANY, N.Y., Oct. 8, 2013 — Albany Medical College will present the 10th Annual Addiction Medicine Weekend Nov. 1-2. The goal is to teach medical professionals to recognize and treat addiction in their patients given its prevalence and the significant impact addiction has on health.

“Over the years we’ve educated 500-700 physicians and other caregivers regarding addiction medicine, which has not been tended to as much as it should have been in the Capital Region,” said Stanley D. Glick, Ph.D., M.D., director of the Center for Neuropharmacology and Neuroscience at Albany Medical College. “Most didn’t know what to do if confronted with a patient suffering from an addictive disorder. We try to take the mystique out of it, explaining that this is a chronic and neglected disease.”

In addition to Dr. Glick, the conference is organized by Isabelle Maisonneuve, Ph.D., of Albany Medical College and led by Steven Kipnis, M.D., medical director of the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS).

The program focuses on treating patients who are addicted not just to alcohol and drugs, but who also suffer from ‘behavioral addictions’ such as gambling, Dr. Glick said.

Other topics covered this year will include HIV and the addicted patient, bariatric surgery and addiction, tobacco use, sex addiction, and legal issues related to addiction.

Albany Medical Center, northeastern New York’s only academic health sciences center, is one of the largest private employers in the Capital Region. It incorporates the 651-bed Albany Medical Center Hospital, which offers the widest range of medical and surgical services in the region, and the Albany Medical College, which trains the next generation of doctors, scientists and other healthcare professionals, and also includes a biomedical research enterprise and the region’s largest physicians practice with nearly 400 doctors. Albany Medical Center works with dozens of community partners to improve the region’s health and quality of life. For more information: www.amc.edu or www.facebook.com/albanymedicalcenter .

###

Statistical information presented in press releases may no longer be valid.